40-50db-ish

AJ had his 1 month CI follow-up last week. He had GREAT head turns and reactions to sound in the booth. He tested at 50db multiple times. YAY! He also stayed occupied on the ball and allowed testing to continue longer than usual.

When we were done testing, AJ's audi said she is confident AJ is hearing a bit better than 50db, more like 40-50db. That means he's definitely in the speech banana. WHAAHHHOOOO! Because of his subtle reaction to softer/new sounds, she was pretty sure he was hearing them but not aknowledging the sounds.

His audi gave us a set of new programs to try with AJ, making our last program the first of this series (P4 is now P1-make sense?). But she started him on P2. She placed his CI back on him and did her usual "Lets make sure its not too loud for him" test. Now last time she did this, he turned to her voice immediately. This time, no reaction to her voice, clapping, banging on cabinet...he finally looked up to the shaking of a plastic container with blocks in it. Hm, we decided he was pooped out from the booth.

His audi took his CI off to do some equipment testing and we allowed AJ to play on the floor, in silence, for about 5 minutes. She placed the CI back on him and spoke to him in a normal voice. He cried. Stinker. We turned his volume down a bit and he was just fine for the rest of the visit...and the day. He was definitely tuning us out right after the booth testing.

His audi set another appointment in a month (instead of the typical 2 months) so she can keep a close eye on him and adjust his MAP accordingly. Works for us. AJ is now hearing things he's never heard before. We are way past the level at which he was detecting sound with his HAs. He's figured out how to tune us out (yep, takes off coil), but is fine when we put it back on. His form of "protest", if you can call it that, is giggling, smiling, and squeezing his head to his shoulder. Ridiculously cute and hard to keep a straight face while replacing his coil.

A special thanks to my wonderful hubby for diligently "testing" AJ via environmental sounds each night when he came home from work. AJ's head turns in the booth were absolutely beautiful. She was floored with his new skills! Way to go hon!!!

He followed his CI appt with speech the next day. Again, great turns while just working in his SLP's office. And, lots and lots of vocalizations. He continues to vocalize-all the time. Now that he's in the banana, Lings here we come!

AJ heard ice crashing into a glass today.
AJ heard me whistle today.
AJ heard his Baby Tad toy today.
AJ heard his bongo drum today.

Yep, he heard that!

The What and Where

I've found that people are often confused when I talk about the soundbooth or light boxes. Below are pictures of both.




The soundbooth is where AJ, myself, and usually his SLP are when we test AJ's hearing. Most children sit on a parent's lap, in a highchair, or on a chair. We use the yoga ball for AJ because the slight movement keeps him focused and happy. (If you look closely at the booth picture you can see the top of the green ball we use on the floor). AJ is usually turned at a slight angle to help him turn easier when he hears sound. On opposite corners there are speakers and the light boxes. AJ turns to the speaker when he hears sound (or is supposed to) and his efforts are reinforced by the light boxes. AJ's audiologist sits on the outside of the booth and uses special equipment to produce the sounds that come out of the speakers. She also uses her voice, which comes through the speakers. There is a window in the booth so she can see AJ. She's also able to converse with myself and AJ's SLP through the speakers, if need be.

The light boxes have lights that go around the edge of the box and also a light up toy on the inside that usually moves left to right. The booth we usually use has a "Winnie the Pooh" and a "Duck". Occassionally we use the "Panda", but he's not as exciting.

Booth Testings DONE

Yesterday AJ had his SIXTH & FINAL Booth Testing in the cochlear implant process. Phew :) Can you believe we've gotten through six of them?! The left ear (unaided) was tested. Results-almost identical to the right ear unaided. Response to speech at 105 dB. He's such a pro now. He didn't even try to grab the wire this time.

We were given a copy of a very nice audiogram chart (speech banana chart). It shows a lot more "sounds at different levels". His audiologist plotted his responses on this chart so we could see where he is hearing. A jack hammer was one of the items listed below 95dB. Just because its that loud to us, doesn't mean its that loud to AJ. Given his level of hearing loss, a jack hammer sounds like a whisper to him. WOW. Just incase you would like to compare-you and I hear a whisper at around 10-15dB. Please refer to our chart.

AJ received his new ear molds for his hearing aids as well. They are fire engine red...he is one cool dude!! They also gave me a "Huggie" (no not the diaper) to keep his left hearing aid on his hear. His left ear is a bit floppy (expected since his left side is weaker in general) and he has a shallow "bowl" (area where your finger goes when you plug your ears). It is really a neat device. I'll post a picture of him with his new molds soon.

I also asked why hearing aids do not benefit those with hearing loss such as AJ's. The short version: His hearing aids are very powerful now. Given that they are turned up so high, what he is hearing (environmental sounds around 75dB consistently) is really really distorted. So turning them higher would not help him reach the speech banana. He would not develop speech because the sounds would be even more distorted. Even so, we must keep having him wear his aids. We are stimulating that auditory nerve. This is all in preparation for the cochlear implant. Hopefully, this stimulation will help him to "tune into" the hearing world a bit easier and detect sounds better.

Next on the agenda: Tomorrow-Surgery Consult with AJ's surgeon....

I'm Sorry, What did you SAY?!

Yesterday AJ had his 5th Booth Testing. Yep, he's a pro now. We did right ear un-aided, which was interesting. His audiologist took the ear mold off his hearing aid and placed it in his ear. Then she attached a small clear wire/tube that was connected to a small box that was clipped to the back of his shirt. This time, instead of sending sounds into the booth via the speakers in the corners, she put the sound directly in his ears.

It was very interesting! When he heard something, he'd scrunch his neck to his shoulder (think: bee buzzing by your ear reaction). He also did some great head turns.

We managed to finish the entire right ear (amazing!) and then went over the audiogram, as usual. Since AJ's ABR test showed no response in either ear, we were anxious to see where he really hears without the aids. AJ heard speech at 105dB. Please see our Speech Banana post to see what this means. In short, it means without his aids he hears nothing, except maybe a jet engine right next him. This is no surprise.

What his audiologist said next completely floored me. She stated, "The cochlear implant team (CI Team) had met yesterday and discussed AJ's case. With the right ear tested, we now have enough to submit to insurance. We will be submitting for the right ear first. Since that is his strongest/better motor skills side. We will submit before you see Dr. W on November 7th. It usually takes 30-60 days for pre-authorization. As soon as we receive PA, we'll schedule surgery."

"I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!!!!!!"

Seriously, I am still in shock. We were not expecting that news yesterday-BUT WE'LL TAKE IT! We've put another ticker on top of the blog. We're hoping for approval in 45 days or less SO, we set the ticker for 45 days. Well let everyone know as soon as we know!!!

YAHOO!

Booth Testing #3

AJ had his 3rd Booth Testing yesterday. It went well. He makes it through about 1/2 of a typical testing time and then he starts ignoring us all. AJ, Mommy, and the Speech Therapist all sit in the booth. AJ's Audiologist sits outside the booth and uses the computer and her voice to do the audiogram (booth testing). It is a 6x6 (maybe!) room, with four padded walls, sound-proof, and I swear at least 20 degrees warmer than the rest of the building. Mommy sits behind and bounces him lightly on the yoga ball while his speech therapist watches his face for reactions to sounds/directs him to the rewarding lights/toys in the corners of the booth. By the time we are done, Mommy gets a great arm workout! We then go outside the booth and look at the chart which shows at what levels AJ heard the sounds. He is still doing some fantastic head turns!

We have the rest of the left ear-aided to do, followed by both ears un-aided.

Psychological Evaluation: 8 days
Booth Testing # 4: 11 days
Surgeon Consultation: 36 days
**Possible extra Booth Testings inbetween
Submit to insurance: ________
Pre-Authorization Given: ______
Surgery Date: ______ (estimated around Christmas)

His molds for his hearing aids (the part that fits into his ear) are not fitting properly. We'll be getting new molds soon. The whistling they make when they don't fit right never used to bother him. Now it really does, so much so that he rips them out... While the whistling is not good, it is good that we know he can hear that and it bothers him enough that he acts upon it.